News

Even the British – who we beat in two wars – have managed to figure out that the shale plays are a winner.  How far behind can Josh Fox can be? Global Warming Policy Foundation (9/18/12) reports: “Dr Tim Fox, Head of Energy and Environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers said: “Shale gas has the potential to give some of the regions hit hardest by the economic downturn a much-needed economic boost. The engineering jobs created will also help the Government’s efforts to rebalance the UK’s skewed economy.””

Health problems with wind? Whatever happened to their beloved precautionary principle? Daily Mail (9/8/12) reports: “The symptoms they claim to have suffered may vary – dizziness; balance problems; memory loss; inability to concentrate; insomnia; tachycardia; increased blood pressure; raised cortisol levels; headaches; nausea; mood swings; anxiety; tinnitus; palpitations; depression – but the theme remains the same… Here are ordinary people who settled in the country for a quiet life only to have their lives and property values trashed at the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen.”

We missed this yesterday.  Three things.  First, Evan Lehmann is a really solid reporter.  Second, it is instructive that none of these heroes of the revolution had the courage to go on the record.  Third, they are all going to be important people in both the Romney transition and the Romney Administration. E&ENews(9/18/12) reports: “Three of Mitt Romney’s most visible economic advisers have expressed support for pricing carbon, leading some economists to believe that the Republican candidate is receiving climate advice as he faces criticism about his mysterious tax plan.”

Let justice be done, though the heavens fall.  At least that is what my friend Cicero used to say. Fuel Fix (9/17/12) reports: “Harvard University’s graduates are earning less than those from the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology after a decade-long commodity bull market created shortages of workers as well as minerals.”

The bleeding continues. Energy & Commerce (9/18/12) reports: “The news today that Alpha Natural Resources will be scaling back its coal production and eliminating 1,200 jobs is yet another reminder of the destructive consequences of the Obama administration’s war on coal. The company announced today it will eliminate 1,200 jobs, including 400 jobs that will be terminated as a result of immediate mine closures in Virginia, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Alpha’s Chief Executive Officer, Kevin Crutchfield, lamented “a regulatory environment that’s aggressively aimed at constraining the use of coal.””

This is a good read.  Enjoy. Saulstar (9/17/12) reports: “The answer is technically yes — the NDP support cap-and-trade, not a carbon tax — but in practical terms it’s a distinction without a difference, since cap-and-trade is a carbon tax by another name… Both carbon taxes and cap-and-trade are designed to do exactly the same thing — put a price on industrial carbon dioxide (a.k.a. greenhouse gas) emissions, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, for which the public ultimately pays.”

If he’s not shaking hands and preaching the good word in Small Town, USA, you can probably find Tom on cable news. AEA(9/12/12) reports: “I think they’re right in making the case that it’s time for this production tax credit to end. What has become, really, is just a boondoggle for the wind industry. We’re talking about an industry that has been getting this credit now for twenty years and now what’s happening is they’re literally distorting the markets that they’re in by negative pricing. In other words they’re paying for their energy to come onto the grid because they know they can get the money back through the tax credit.”

This is the sort of thing that happens when you have an energy tax.  API’s tax committee should think about this when they meet next week. Frances Bula (9/12/12) reports: “A carbon tax places a ‘price’ on GHG emissions and should encourage users of fossil fuels to switch to fuels with little or no emissions. To be effective, a carbon tax has to meet two conditions: it must be sufficiently high to send a market signal that emissions have a cost and it has to be sustained to encourage the development and adoption of low emission technologies and transportation systems by businesses and residents.”

Maryam Brown and Cory Hicks just keep the hits coming. Energy & Commerce (9/13/12) reports: “As recently as 2010, President Obama stated in a national address that we are running out of places to drill on land. He also cites the outdated and misleading claim that we possess only two percent of the world’s oil reserves,” said Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY). “This pessimistic view is being blown away by reality. Increased domestic oil production is already cutting into the amount we need to import from unfriendly oil-exporting nations, and many experts believe that this production growth can continue for years to come. When you add the equally impressive growth from our ally Canada, the goal of North American oil independence could be reached in as little as a decade.”

Yesterday, the Pipeline linked to a story that indicated the Heritage Foundation and Congressman Ed Markey agreed with respect to the No More Solyndras Act.  The story was wrong and has been corrected (below). E&ENews (9/12/12) reports: “The original version of this story indicated that all the groups would oppose the legislation today. Only Taxpayers for Common Sense opposes the bill as written.”